Posts Tagged books

Gifts for the Bookish Types

By on December 5, 2016   /   Book Lists  

I nearly titled this post My Holiday Wish List, but  I thought that might be too personal and only my family would read it. So, I decided to broaden the scope just a bit. Here’s a list of gift ideas for anyone who loves books. (And if you happen to be in my family: pay attention!)

Bookplates  Bookplates come in all forms. I found some great traditional sticky Charley Harper bookplates at The Wooster Book Company last month.  I think these Bookplate Stamps  are pretty fun, too!

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Click the link for more than a dozen styles and options! (Mom, I just can’t decide which one, so you pick for me, OK?)

 

 

 

 

Book embossers If sticking or stamping your name into your books isn’t permanent enough, you could always engrave it right into the paper with a super-cool book embosser from Horchow.com.zzembosser

Book scarves Wrap up your shopping with one of these! zz-john-green-scarves zzjgscarf

Several different John Green quote scarves are available here.  And, if your reader prefers classics, find some sweet Jane Austen, Dickens, and Anne of Green Gables scarves here.  (Dear daughter, I already have the Alice in Wonderland scarf, so maybe the Jane Eyre one? Hint. Hint.)

Literary Phone Cases  The reader on your list would love one of these!

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You’ll find a million different book-related phone cases here. (I may be exaggerating just a bit, but there are pages and pages of them!)

Literary ornaments  I could have a whole tree of these! Aren’t they awesome? Find A Wrinkle in Time, James and the Giant Peach, Charlotte’s Web and a hundred more (I’m not exaggerating!) at Novel Adornments Etsy shop.  I could have a whole tree of these. (I know I said that already, but it seemed worth repeating. Ahem.)

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Wax and seal kits Some readers are writers, but all readers love the mystery of a sealed letter. Give your reader a wax and seal with their monogram.

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A wand for your wizard  Is your wizard a Luna Lovegood? Or a Neville Longbottom? A Lupin, Weasley, or Krum? There’s a wand for every wizard here!  (Honey, I think I’m a Trelawny. Just saying.)

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And who’d have dreamed that these are even a thing?

Periodic Table of World Literature   Yes. You heard me. Who says there’s nothing scientific about being a book nerd? You’ll find the proof here.

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Candles, Lip Balm, and Beard Oil   With scents that include Unicorn Breath, Narnia Forest, and Gatsby’s Shoreline, you’ll find candles and lip balm for the reading ladies on your list and, yep, beard oil for the headmaster of your holidays if you stop by From the Page.

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Library card socks  While you’re here buying library card socks, check out all the other bookish clothing at www.outofprintclothing.com.

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The greenest book mark you’ve ever seen.  Find your page or grow a garden. It’s up to you with Green Marker.

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So, now my family is well prepared to start their shopping. I hope the rest of you got a few ideas as well.

P.S., Honey (and the rest of you)– Shop early! Some personalized, customized, and handmade items take a bit longer to ship. (Wink.)

Michelle Houts is the author of many books for young readers. She loves gift-giving and takes pride in being “the book aunt” in her family. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @mhoutswrites , on Facebook, and at www.michellehouts.com.

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My First ALA Annual Conference

By on July 11, 2016   /   For Librarians, For Teachers, For Writers, News  

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A little over two weeks ago I got to attend my first ALA Annual conference. It was an exciting experience… and so exhausting. I was there not just as an attendee, but as an author. Lucky me!  I  was thrilled to be representing  three of my publishers: Charlesbridge, National Geographic Kids, and Nomad Press.

Why exhausting? I spent four days on  my feet about 10 hours a day discussing all things BOOKS.  It was awesome!

If you haven’t been to an ALA conference yet, you should go. It is definitely something to see if you love the literary world.

So what did I learn in my first adventure into ALA?

1) ALA is HUGE! Seriously. The room is massive and is FILLED with exhibits from every type of book imaginable: children’s (PB, CB, MG, YA), trade, educational, self-published,  Adult books of many different genres, graphic novels, and even self-help books. There are places to buy benches for your library, consultants to help you plan your technical needs, and also representatives from the Library of Congress and NASA.

My recommendation: Go in. Take a deep breath and get your bearings. It’s a lot to take in all at once.

 

This gives you an idea of the massive size of the convention area. This is one of their empty rooms. It  was actually twice this size. The other half stretched under the walkway I was on. See? HUGE

 

2)  Use your Conference Directory

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Yes, it’s a massive tome in and of itself. But it has all of the information you need. In fact, take a good look through it and make notes of things you want to do and people you want to see. There is a comprehensive list of authors who will be signing and if you know where they are you can get in line… EARLY!

That will save you the time of seeing a huge line, wondering who is there, and walking around to see that you missed the one awesome kidlit author that you definitely wanted to meet.  (Yes, that happened to me a couple of times)

3) Get a COGNOTES every morning

20160709_140603 This is the newspaper that the conference puts out. Every morning at the top of the stairs, people are standing their handing these out. Many people (like me) don’t take one. That is not a good idea. This is a GREAT source of everything that is happening that day.

 

 

4) TAKE THE FREE BOOKS!!

Every publisher is handing out books for FREE. They are just stacked on the tables and you can take them. It’s like being a kid in a free candy store.

People kept asking me “Would you like a book?”  UM YES!!

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This is just one small stack of the 20 books we came home with!

 

5) Find the Book Buzz Theatre, the Pop Top Stage and the Graphic Novel &Gaming Stage

These stages host various authors and editor speakers talking about fascinating topics. I was thrilled to be on a panel with Anastasia Suen and Chris Barton talking about STEM books for kids!

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6) Take time to meet up with author friends

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With author Miranda Paul at the We Need Diverse Books Booth

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Meeting author Sylvia Liu for the first time

 

 

 

7) Spend quality time with your editors

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With Alyssa Mito Pusey of Charlesbridge Publishing

 

8) Talk to many wonderful librarians about your books!

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Playing BRAIN GAMES at the Nat Geo Kids booth

 

Whew! Are you tired yet? And I didn’t even get to go to any of the hundreds of fascinating workshops and programs put on by amazing librarians, editors and authors.

There were so many things to do and see, you can’t possibly get to them all. So here is a short summation of some of the highlights of the conference:

For an amazing wrap up, I give you ALA Annual’s very own video. Go to this page and click on it:  http://2016.alaannual.org/

The ALA Archives has a great summary of many of the wonderful presentations here:  https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/tag/alaac16/

Some fabulous images from ALAAC16 shared by School Library Journal here

Matt de la Peña gave an awesome  2016 Newbery acceptance speech.                        It is a must-read! You can find it on the Horn Book Website here 

So are you game? Plan to attend the next ALA conference?

Here is my final piece of advice : Try to pick a few events that you want to attend and then fill in the rest of the time just walking around and seeing it all.  But whatever you see and do, just drink it all in. After all, its ALL ABOUT BOOKS!!

 

***** Jennifer Swanson is the author of over 25 books, mostly about STEM, because, well, STEM ROCKS! You can find her at her website: www.JenniferSwansonBooks.com

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The Real Life of the Middle-Grade Reader

By on August 26, 2015   /   For Writers, Writing  

I love writing for the middle-grade reader.

There’s something very appealing about this audience. They’re old enough to understand humor and even sarcasm (in fact, some eleven-year-olds I know are Kings and Queens of Sarcasm).  By age nine, many children have mastered the mechanics of reading and they’re ready for challenging new vocabulary and themes that stretch their minds.

And best of all, middle-grade readers aren’t ready for all the angst, sexual issues, cussing, and violence that those Young Adult authors have to face head on when writing for teens. Right? I mean, the middle-grade genre is all about best friends and dogs and family vacations and…

STOP.

If you dig, even not too deeply, you’ll probably find an interview in which I’m quoted saying something very similar to the previous paragraph. But I now know that when I had those thoughts, I was thinking about the middle-grade books of my youth, not today’s middle-grade kids.

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My local school district has an “Intermediate” building for 5th and 6th graders. Last time I was there, I was surprised that most of the library books I saw being toted around by these ten- to twelve-year-olds were YA titles. They were devouring “The Hunger Games” and going ga-ga over “The Fault in Our Stars.”  Why weren’t they reading middle-grade books? Why weren’t they reading my books? Aren’t these the very students I (and other middle-grade authors) write for?

To find the answers, I think we have to look more closely at today’s nine- to twelve-year-old.  Here are some interesting facts* about the MG audience. Our MG audience:

In middle childhood, children might:

  • form stronger, more complex friendships and peer relationships
  • feel very emotional about those friendships
  • encounter higher levels of peer pressure
  • notice bodily changes and have unanswered questions about their bodies
  • begin to develop body image issues such as eating disorders
  • feel the pressure of harder classwork and academic challenges
  • begin to see themselves apart from their family unit
  • experience fears such as: fear of disappointing parents or parents finding out about negative behaviors or thoughts
  • experience anxiety over their social standing
  • become more aware of community threats and dangers such as violence

Whoa. That’s a heavy list for kids who haven’t even hit their teens yet. But it’s reality and it’s our audience. These are the children for whom we write.

So, what does this mean? No more dogs and best friends and family vacations? Of course not. But what it does mean is that we shouldn’t shy away from the reality that is life for today’s middle grader. Sometimes parents go to prison. Aunts and uncles can be alcoholics. Preteens think about their sexuality. Gangs and violence don’t suddenly appear after age 13. Nine- to twelve-year-olds sometimes live in homes or communities that are dangerous.

It’s okay to address the tougher side of preteen life. As storytellers, we can choose the right measure of tact, honesty, and humor to soften the blows of middle grade reality.

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What are your current favorite middle grade titles? I’d be willing to guess that beneath the general premise there are some serious issues which today’s middle graders understand all too well.

What do you think? Share your comments below!

*facts listed above come from:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/middle2.html

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/liking-the-child-you-love/201402/the-hiddennot-so-hidden-fears-middle-school-students

Michelle Houts is the author of four books for middle-grade readers. She shares The Mark Boney Promise with young people at school and library visits in an effort to bring more kindness to classrooms everywhere.  Find Michelle at www.michellehouts.com. On Twitter and Instagram @mhoutswrites and on Facebook as Michelle Houts.

 

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